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| Sergei Filin of Bolshoi Ballet Discusses His Work and a 2013 Acid Attack | Sergei Filin of Bolshoi Ballet Discusses His Work and a 2013 Acid Attack |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| On a snowy January evening in 2013, Sergei Filin, then director of the Bolshoi Ballet, was attacked by a masked man in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Moscow. A jar of sulfuric acid was tossed in his face; the assault, it was later discovered, had been engineered by a disgruntled dancer in the company. (The prosecution argued that he was upset that his girlfriend, a fellow dancer, wasn’t being offered the opportunities she deserved.) Even after several operations, Mr. Filin’s eyesight is permanently impaired — he is almost blind in one eye — a condition he masks with designer sunglasses. | On a snowy January evening in 2013, Sergei Filin, then director of the Bolshoi Ballet, was attacked by a masked man in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Moscow. A jar of sulfuric acid was tossed in his face; the assault, it was later discovered, had been engineered by a disgruntled dancer in the company. (The prosecution argued that he was upset that his girlfriend, a fellow dancer, wasn’t being offered the opportunities she deserved.) Even after several operations, Mr. Filin’s eyesight is permanently impaired — he is almost blind in one eye — a condition he masks with designer sunglasses. |
| His career, too, has suffered. Last July, almost two years after he returned to the Bolshoi from a series of operations in Germany, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed. A recent documentary, “Bolshoi Babylon,” suggests that he fell out of favor at the theater, particularly with the new general director, Vladimir Urin. Then, this year, a surprise: Mr. Filin had been offered a position, created specifically for him, as head of a new workshop for young choreographers at the Bolshoi. | His career, too, has suffered. Last July, almost two years after he returned to the Bolshoi from a series of operations in Germany, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed. A recent documentary, “Bolshoi Babylon,” suggests that he fell out of favor at the theater, particularly with the new general director, Vladimir Urin. Then, this year, a surprise: Mr. Filin had been offered a position, created specifically for him, as head of a new workshop for young choreographers at the Bolshoi. |
| Mr. Filin was in New York last week, judging dancers and presenting a choreography prize at the Youth America Grand Prix international ballet competition. Through a translator, he talked about the Bolshoi, his new job and how his life has changed since the attack. These are edited excerpts from that conversation. | Mr. Filin was in New York last week, judging dancers and presenting a choreography prize at the Youth America Grand Prix international ballet competition. Through a translator, he talked about the Bolshoi, his new job and how his life has changed since the attack. These are edited excerpts from that conversation. |
| Do you feel safe at the Bolshoi? | Do you feel safe at the Bolshoi? |
| Mmm, I don’t think I feel safe. Pavel Dmitrichenko, the dancer who organized the attack, has applied for a reduction of his jail term and it’s very possible that he might leave prison. [He was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2013.] | Mmm, I don’t think I feel safe. Pavel Dmitrichenko, the dancer who organized the attack, has applied for a reduction of his jail term and it’s very possible that he might leave prison. [He was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2013.] |
| Could he come back to the theater? | Could he come back to the theater? |
| The decision would have to be taken by the new administration. Everything is possible in this world. | The decision would have to be taken by the new administration. Everything is possible in this world. |
| In the documentary “Bolshoi Babylon,’’ you say that when you took the top job at the Bolshoi, “I made the wrong decision.” Do you still feel that way? | In the documentary “Bolshoi Babylon,’’ you say that when you took the top job at the Bolshoi, “I made the wrong decision.” Do you still feel that way? |
| I never regretted or doubted what I have done at the Bolshoi, but thinking back, the moment when I accepted the proposal was wrong, the timing was wrong. I didn’t understand the internal situation in the theater. There were scandals in the company. The previous director [Gennady Yanin] had been forced to resign due to a sex scandal. I came to a company full of scandals and divided into different factions. It was too political. I did what I could, but the price was too high. | I never regretted or doubted what I have done at the Bolshoi, but thinking back, the moment when I accepted the proposal was wrong, the timing was wrong. I didn’t understand the internal situation in the theater. There were scandals in the company. The previous director [Gennady Yanin] had been forced to resign due to a sex scandal. I came to a company full of scandals and divided into different factions. It was too political. I did what I could, but the price was too high. |
| How has the attack affected your life and work? | How has the attack affected your life and work? |
| Obviously my eyesight is not the same, and I have to take care of that all the time. I have to maintain the condition of my sight for the rest of my life. It’s a major change and trauma created by that attack. But I don’t think I was affected that much psychologically — I’ve gotten over it. | Obviously my eyesight is not the same, and I have to take care of that all the time. I have to maintain the condition of my sight for the rest of my life. It’s a major change and trauma created by that attack. But I don’t think I was affected that much psychologically — I’ve gotten over it. |
| Still, it’s a terrible thing that happened to you. | Still, it’s a terrible thing that happened to you. |
| I still cannot believe the reason. There is no reason for such a savage attack. The claim was that he [Mr. Dmitrichenko] did it for his girlfriend, but after it happened and he was sentenced, he got married to someone else, and she got married to someone else. The love evaporated very fast. There are only questions why and for what. | I still cannot believe the reason. There is no reason for such a savage attack. The claim was that he [Mr. Dmitrichenko] did it for his girlfriend, but after it happened and he was sentenced, he got married to someone else, and she got married to someone else. The love evaporated very fast. There are only questions why and for what. |
| Do you still have pain from your injuries? | Do you still have pain from your injuries? |
| Sometimes. | Sometimes. |
| Are you confident you can do your new job? | Are you confident you can do your new job? |
| If I weren’t sure I could keep going, I wouldn’t have accepted. | If I weren’t sure I could keep going, I wouldn’t have accepted. |
| How did the idea for a choreographic workshop come about? | How did the idea for a choreographic workshop come about? |
| The idea to set up this program was put forward by the board of trustees. We’ve never had this type of program before at the Bolshoi. The idea had been in the pipeline for some time. [Actually there is a precedent: The Bolshoi held choreographic workshops under Alexei Ratmansky’s tenure as artistic director of the ballet company, 2004-2008.] | |
| What are your plans for it? | What are your plans for it? |
| We’re still figuring out the format, but I can say that the program is not a training or education program but a practicum or a workshop, an opportunity for those who have chosen this career to implement what they have learned. The ballets will be performed on the New Stage at the Bolshoi. | We’re still figuring out the format, but I can say that the program is not a training or education program but a practicum or a workshop, an opportunity for those who have chosen this career to implement what they have learned. The ballets will be performed on the New Stage at the Bolshoi. |
| Have you chosen your first choreographers? | Have you chosen your first choreographers? |
| Yes. The first batch are [mostly] dancers from the Bolshoi. Some are finishing their dancing careers, but others are still early in their careers. I knew some of them because of work they did elsewhere. Some of them participated in various festivals. And there’s one who works in Spain; he’s Bulgarian but has a Spanish passport. At this point I have nine — men and women. | |
| Do you see a lot of choreographic talent in Russia? | Do you see a lot of choreographic talent in Russia? |
| I have no opinion yet. When I see the results of their work, I will have an opinion. | I have no opinion yet. When I see the results of their work, I will have an opinion. |
| What is your relationship with Vladimir Urin, the general director of the Bolshoi? | What is your relationship with Vladimir Urin, the general director of the Bolshoi? |
| We have working relations. I don’t feel any tension toward him, and I don’t generate any situations that would create tension. You would never find any public mention where I express hostility toward Vladimir Urin. If you have this impression, then the source of this tension comes from the other side. In our work together since he was appointed general director, there have been many wonderful productions. I haven’t tried to sabotage anything or create hostility or unrest in the company. | We have working relations. I don’t feel any tension toward him, and I don’t generate any situations that would create tension. You would never find any public mention where I express hostility toward Vladimir Urin. If you have this impression, then the source of this tension comes from the other side. In our work together since he was appointed general director, there have been many wonderful productions. I haven’t tried to sabotage anything or create hostility or unrest in the company. |
| What is the atmosphere like in the company today? | What is the atmosphere like in the company today? |
| There is a calm working atmosphere. There is friction, like at any company, but no big tsunamis. | There is a calm working atmosphere. There is friction, like at any company, but no big tsunamis. |
| What are your thoughts on Makhar Vaziev, the new ballet director of the Bolshoi? | What are your thoughts on Makhar Vaziev, the new ballet director of the Bolshoi? |
| It’s difficult to say because we are not closely acquainted. I danced at the Bolshoi [in Moscow], and he was director of the Mariinsky Ballet [in St. Petersburg]. And when I became artistic director of the ballet at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, Vaziev was abroad. We’ll see after a year or so. | It’s difficult to say because we are not closely acquainted. I danced at the Bolshoi [in Moscow], and he was director of the Mariinsky Ballet [in St. Petersburg]. And when I became artistic director of the ballet at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, Vaziev was abroad. We’ll see after a year or so. |
| What achievements as director are you most proud of? | What achievements as director are you most proud of? |
| My greatest achievement is everything that I left behind: I left a wonderful new repertoire and wonderful dancers. They hold upon their shoulders the whole repertoire. The public, the press and critics have elevated them. The first is Olga Smirnova, who in my opinion is one of the most interesting ballerinas in the world. And I’m proud I managed to bring masterpieces like “Onegin” by John Cranko and “Lady of the Camellias,” by John Neumeier, and four original ballets created for the Bolshoi. If you see “Bolshoi Babylon” you can have the impression that everything was bad. But if everything was so lousy, how come so much was created? | My greatest achievement is everything that I left behind: I left a wonderful new repertoire and wonderful dancers. They hold upon their shoulders the whole repertoire. The public, the press and critics have elevated them. The first is Olga Smirnova, who in my opinion is one of the most interesting ballerinas in the world. And I’m proud I managed to bring masterpieces like “Onegin” by John Cranko and “Lady of the Camellias,” by John Neumeier, and four original ballets created for the Bolshoi. If you see “Bolshoi Babylon” you can have the impression that everything was bad. But if everything was so lousy, how come so much was created? |
| And yet you say you don’t feel safe there. | And yet you say you don’t feel safe there. |
| How can I feel safe when things like that can happen? Once you face such a situation, you never feel safe. | How can I feel safe when things like that can happen? Once you face such a situation, you never feel safe. |